Lourdes, France, Aug 9, 2004 / 22:00 pm
News among Pope John Paul II’s upcoming pilgrimage to Lourdes has raised interest among Asia’s Christians, and an ever-growing number of them are visiting the renowned Catholic sanctuary, reported AsiaNews.
Last year about 9,000 pilgrims from Asia visited Lourdes. The largest group, which numbered 1,179 people, came from South Korea. Surprisingly, a contingent of 934 North Korean refugees, living in different parts of Asia, also made the trip.
The second largest group came from Lebanon (1,099), followed by Japan (1,086), China (368), Vietnam (224), Thailand (198), Singapore (135), United Arab Emirates (80), and Taiwan (66).
Fr. José De Antonio is a Spanish oblate in charge of Lourdes pilgrimages from outside of Europe. Back in July, he welcomed three European-based Indian Tamil pilgrims.